The President's Dismissal on Journalist's Murder Represents a New Low.
“Things happen.” A mere phrase. That was enough for the US president to brush off what is arguably the most infamous murder of a reporter of the last decade – and in so doing plumbed a new low in his disregard toward journalists, for journalism – and for the truth.
The Context
The American leader’s dismissal of the murder of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi came during a media briefing with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman – a man whom the US intelligence concluded in a recent assessment had ordered the kidnap and killing of the Washington Post columnist in that year. (Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.)
The American spy agencies were not the only ones to conclude the murder – which occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and in which the late journalist was sedated and dismembered – was signed off at the highest levels. An inquiry led by former UN expert, the UN investigator, reached comparable findings.
International Response
For a brief period, nations were unified in their condemnation of the kingdom’s conduct. The US enacted penalties and travel restrictions in that year over the killing, although it refrained of sanctioning Prince Mohammed himself. Since then, the nation has been slowly rehabilitating itself – and the crown prince’s visit to the US capital seemed to be the final confirmation of that rehabilitation.
Presidential Comments
Critics of the regime had roundly condemned the meeting. But what was on display at the White House was more alarming than could have been imagined. Not only did the president fete Prince Mohammed but he effectively rewrote history – and then blamed the victim. The crown prince, Trump asserted when asked, knew nothing about the killing – in direct contradiction to what his nation’s intelligence services concluded four years ago. Moreover, the president said: “A lot of people disliked that gentleman that you’re talking about, whether you approve of him or disapproved, incidents occur.”
Established Conduct
This represents a fresh and shameful point for a leader who has made no attempt to hide of his contempt for the truth – or for the media. Trump has defamed reporters (he called a news network, whose journalist asked the question about Khashoggi at the media event “false information”), berated them in open settings (he called one a “rude name” this week for asking about his relationship with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein), taken legal action against news outlets for eye-watering sums of money in frivolous cases, and called for media groups he doesn’t like to lose their licenses.
He has forced established media out of the official briefing group for refusing to use language of his preference, and he has slashed financial support for vital news services at home and crucial free press abroad.
Broader Implications
All of that has created an environment in which journalists are manifestly less safe in the US, but one in which their victimization – and indeed murder – becomes not just insignificant (“things happen”) but acceptable (“many individuals didn’t like that gentleman”).
It is unsurprising that 2024 was the deadliest year on file for journalists in the more than 30 years the press freedom organization has been tracking this information: a persistent failure to hold those accountable for reporter murders has created a environment without consequences in which those who murder reporters are actually able to get away with murder and so persist in these actions.
In no place is this more evident than in the Middle Eastern nation, which is accountable for the killing of over two hundred journalists in the recent period.
Effect on Society
The effect on the public is deep. Attacks on journalists are assaults on facts. They are undermining of reality. They are attacks on our rights to know and on our liberty to exist without fear and securely.
This week, CPJ meets for its annual global journalism honors. The statement there is the same as my one for the president: such events may occur. But it is our responsibility to make sure they do not.
